The Face of the Wolf is Blessed, or is It? Diverging Perceptions of the Wolf

Bibliographic Data

ID8934551
AuthorsDavid R Hunt (0000-0003-1316-3418), David Hunt (0000-0001-5527-7427, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume119
Issue3
Pages319-334
Publication date2008-10-27
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFolklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00155870802352269
OpenAlexW2087261062
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited1

Evidence shows divergent perceptions of the wolf in different parts of the world. The populations of Asia, the Near East and the indigenous peoples of North America see the wolf positively, as an ideal hunter, warrior and survivor in the wilderness, although shepherds and animal-herders in these regions seem to have an ambivalent attitude towards the animal. Among many of the peoples mentioned above, there appears to be a desire to emulate the wolf, and magical powers have been attributed to the animal and to his body parts. On the other hand, the wolf is feared as a ravenous beast by the populations of Europe and by European immigrants to America. Notes [1] More information is given in a thesis by Caroline Oates (1993 Oates, C. F., Trials of Werewolves in the Franche-Comté in the Early Modern Period. Unpublished Ph.D. Diss., University of London, The Warburg Institute, London, 1993. [Google Scholar]). [2] The Narts were an ancient heroic race that preceded the present population, but whose legendary heroism the present generations try to emulate. [3] The shaytan (perhaps linked to the word Satan) is perceived as being something between a demon and a fairy. In the Balkar traditions they were often thought to spend their nights in dancing and revelry, but disappeared at dawn. [4] Such an attitude is not confined to the Caucasus. There is an Inuit myth in which God had provided them with various animals, including the caribou, which had come from a hole in the ground. Eventually the quality of the caribou herd deteriorated and an Inuit woman complained to God that these animals gave poor quality meat and hides. God told her to go back to the hole. Out of it came the wolf. The wolf culled the weaklings from the Caribou herd and the quality of the remainder improved (Jessell 1994 Jessell, T. 1994. Amorak, Mankato, Minn: Creative Education. [Google Scholar], 24). [5] Perhaps this is another example of the cleansing of the flock by letting the wolf take the weakest (see also the section above, "Relations between Shepherds and Wolves"). [6] Very similar beliefs have also been recorded among various American Indian tribes including the Cherokee, Kwakiutl and Ahtena, together with the Inuit (Lopez 1978 Lopez, B. H. 1978. Of Wolves and Men, London: Dent. [Google Scholar], 109–10)

Ambivalence · Archaeology · Ethnology · Face (sociological concept · Genealogy · Geography · Ideal (ethics · Immigration · Indigenous · Perception · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Wilderness · Animal and Plant Science Education · Ecology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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